2.  Everyone likes to be recognized when they have done a good job.  With the economy the way it is today, it’s tough to afford rewards.  Use your imagination  Incorporate the holidays with it  Use some humor  Make sure their peers know that they were rewarded for a job well done

3.  A little competition never hurt anyone  Offer a contest and have it open to all  This can range from the cleanest bus to the best operator or attendant  Have fun with it  Put out a memo or a poster to advertise the contest  Get the news media involved for some positive press

4.  Some of your employees are very talented  Ask them to donate home made crafts etc.  Sell raffle tickets for these items  Ask local restaurants and stores for gift cards or any items they are willing to donate  This is free advertisement for them as well  You will be surprised how many places are willing to help

5.  Cleanest bus award  Inspect the buses, pick the top three  Have a panel of judges to vote on the best one  Next call the operator and or attendant in  Reward them with “The Golden Broom” award  Take their picture with the “Golden Broom”

6.  Post their picture for all their peers to see  Make announcements on the radio  Use your resources, make home made certificates off of the computer

7.  Competition, Competition, Competition  Have the operators and attendants nominate each other for the operator of the year  Next set up some testing competition  Give a written test and score it  Give a driving test and score it  Make sure to use impartial judges

8.  Have the competition quarterly  Identify the winner at a safety meeting or post the winner for everyone to see  Get the media involved, have them write it up in the paper or on a news clip  Before long all of the operators will want the same recognition  This will help bring about safety conscious individuals

9.  Next you will need to have a test between the winners of the quarterly operator of the year to identify one individual operator who stands out above the rest  This will be your “operator OF THE YEAR”  At your annual in-service training, have this operator recognized individually as the winner

10.  Now bring out the gifts from the restaurants & stores and present them to “THE OPERATOR OF THE YEAR”  Take some of the money that was raised from the raffle or fund raiser and have a special district shirt made for this individual with the year, their name & “OPERATOR OF THE YEAR” printed on it.

11.  Make an example out of them  Assign a special parking slot for the ‘operator OF THE YEAR”  Have a tag made up for their personal car  Anything that will identify them as being a step above will suffice

12.  Use the same examples as with the operator of the year  Have a test, maybe tying down a wheel chair or installing a car seat  Have a written test as well  Remember you want your people to strive for excellence

13.  Any time an employee goes above and beyond their regular duties, make sure they are recognized

14.  Check your districts policies on these issues  For instance you can have a costume contest on Halloween  At Christmas, you can have a contest for the best decorated office  The more fun it is to come to work, the less stressful the environment is  The less stressful the environment, the healthier the employees are

15.  These can include:  “SAFE operator AWARDS”  “PERFECT ATTENDANCE AWARDS”  “HUMANITARIAN AWARD”  “ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARD”  “HAPPY GO LUCKY AWARD”

16.  Have the employee recognized by the school board at their meetings  Schools can give out shirts with their school’s logo on it  Schools can have operator and attendant appreciation breakfasts  Have the students create a skit on what they like about their operator and or attendant & show it at in-service

17.  TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL!!!!!!!!!!!  AN ATTA BOY GOES A LONG WAY